William Wernigk

Wernigk was born in Chemnitz.[1] During his school years, Wernigk became a member of the Schülerverbindung Nibelungia Wien. He was drafted into military service in 1914 and seriously wounded in Russia in 1915.[1] From 1915, he lived in Vienna and trained as an opera singer, mainly self-taught. In 1919, he was engaged by the Vienna State Opera, where he remained a member of the ensemble until his retirement in 1963.[1] Wernigk was a versatile spieltenor with good acting skills. He appeared in roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, and Wenzel in Smetana's Die verkaufte Braut. His Italian repertoire included Cassio in Verdi's Otello, Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Altoum and Pong in Turandot.[1] He appeared as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss 85 times.[2] As a comprimario actor, he became a mainstay of the Vienna State Opera ensemble, also taking on very minor roles such as servant, doorman, sailor, tailor, messenger, executioner, hotel manager and other service providers, the First prisoner in Beethoven's Fidelio and the First armoured man in Die Zauberflöte. He also performed musically intricate ensemble roles such as the Second Jew in Salome. In Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, and in four roles in which he appeared between 1920 and 1956: 215 times as the Servant to Faninal, 176 times as the Innkeeper, 8 times as Valzacchi and 4 times as the Servant to the Feldmarschallin, sometimes in two roles the same evening, including when the ensemble performed at the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden and in Brussels in 1953.[2]

From 1927 to 1949, he was a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival, where he also appeared in the Domkonzerte concert series, including Bruckner's Messe No. 3 in 1933, and Mozart's Mass in C major, K. 337, in 1936.[3] On stage, he performed many of his Vienna roles.[1] In 1947, he took part in the world premiere of Gottfried von Einem's Dantons Tod there,[1] conducted by Ferenc Fricsay and alongside Paul Schöffler in the title role, Julius Patzak as Desmoulins, and Maria Cebotari as Lucile.[4]

He appeared as guest at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1927, in Milan, in Paris in 1928 and 1936, at the Vienna Volksoper in 1940 and at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1935.[1]

Wernigk died in Vienna at the age of 80.[1]

Wernigk's recordings include:

Complete recordings

• Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, conductor: Bruno Walter (1937) – as Don Basilio[1]
• Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, conductor: Arturo Toscanini (1937) – as Monostatos[1][5]
• Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, conductor: Robert Heger (1933) – as the Innkeeper[6]

Individual scenes from archive recordings of the Vienna State Opera

• David in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg[1]
• Mime in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (1948)[1]

• Helge Dvorak: Biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Burschenschaft. Vol. II: Künstler. Winter, Heidelberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-8253-6813-5, p. 720.

• Literature by and about William Wernigk in the German National Library catalogue
• William Wernigk at AllMusic
• William Wernigk discography at Discogs